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Blast: Players, BTN Analysts Talk JoePa Retirement

By BTN.com staff -
4 years ago

Wednesday morning, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno released a statement announcing his decision to retire at the end of the season. “I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today. That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season.” Read the full statement here.

Our BTN analysts Gerry DiNardo and Chris Martin joined Dave Revsine for a special edition of the Big Ten Blast on Wednesday afternoon. The crew talked about the latest developments in State College and offered their thoughts on the situation. The Blast also included interviews from Penn State players, including Silas Redd and Nick Sukay. Watch it now and don’t forget to tune in for a special edition of Big Ten Football & Beyond, focusing on Penn State, at 6:30 p.m. ET tonight. You can also scroll through our Penn State football AP story archive here, which updates throughout the day.

On Tuesday night, our Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo joined Dave Revsine on the air for a special Tuesday night report to cover the latest news at Penn State surrounding former longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky, Sandusky’s criminal charges and the impact on Paterno and the Penn State football program. Watch the report below. It is also available on BTN’s YouTube page.

More Tuesday updates: Paterno, a Hall of Famer and the winningest coach in Division I history, attended football practice Tuesday. Earlier in the day Paterno was scheduled to meet reporters as he normally does each week, but the press conference was canceled. The Penn State coach also did not appear on the weekly Big Ten Conference teleconference to discuss the upcoming weekend’s football game. Later Tuesday evening, hundreds of fans staged a raucous rally outside Paterno’s home Tuesday evening and the coach appeared briefly, along with some family members.

“It’s hard for me to say how much this means,” the 84-year-old coach said.

“As you know, the kids that were the victims, I think we ought to say a prayer for them.”

Asked if he was still the coach, Paterno didn’t answer but a young woman who stood with her arm around him replied: “Now is not the time.”

On Sunday Penn State’s Board of Trustees and President Graham Spanier received a request from Director of Athletics Tim Curley to be placed on administrative leave. Spanier said that Mark Sherburne, Associate Athletic Director for Administration, will serve as interim Athletic Director until Curley’s legal situation is resolved. Read the full Penn State release at PSU.edu. Also, here’s a statement from the Penn State Board of Trustees.

The AP also reported that Paterno’s support among the Penn State board of trustees was described as “eroding,” threatening to end the 84-year-old coach’s career. A person familiar with the trustees’ discussions and who used the term “eroding” said it was unclear what the consequences for Paterno will be and that a decision could be rendered before the board meets on Friday, the AP said. Paterno’s son, Scott, said his father hasn’t spoken with Penn State officials or trustees about stepping down (read the entire AP story here).

“Joe Paterno’s tenure as coach of the Penn State football team will soon be over, perhaps within days or weeks, in the wake of a sex-abuse scandal that has implicated university officials, according to two people briefed on conversations among the university’s top officials.”

Penn State’s next football game is at home against Nebraska. The last time the Nittany Lions played they survived an ugly offensive performance to beat Illinois 10-7 on Oct. 29, allowing Paterno to pass Eddie Robinson as the all-time Division I leader with 409 wins. Read the full AP preview here.

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5 Comments

If all you media idiots (armchair quarterbacks that really don’t know anything, that is why you are in the studio instead of the field) would let the authorities handle the investigation and let JoePa coach he would be able to finish out the season as PSU’s head coach. JoePa has done no wrong and did what he was suppose to do by notifying his supervisor. Let’s get back to football. The kids still have a season to finish.

Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer on 11/9/2011 @ 5:36pm EDT Said:

Paterno’s non-action is egregious! He’s supposed to be a leader, a molder of men who builds character. In his big moment, he opts to do nothing after he sees his bosses doing nothing!!!! Would JoePa had done nothing if it was one of his grandkids getting abused? Of course not. He would have gone right to the cops. But, in this instance, he did nothing. Why?

I think anyone that was in position of authority from 98-02 should be barred from the campus, period. No questions asked. I find outrageous that the Board of Trustee’s finds that they shouldn’t call an emergency meeting at least 3 days ago. But to catch you to speed;

A young GA reports (by phone) to Joe Pa Friday evening…Sat morning the same GA tells Joe Pa at his home…Sandusky was sodimizing a young boy. Joe Pa reporting Sunday that some “…fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy,” to the AD. I personally see this as being much less severe as what was reported to him (Joe Pa). Heres the Grand Jury indictment URL: http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Press/Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment.pdf

Question at hand, is outlined under Victim 2. Seems like a real gray area to me about Joe Pa’s role. I believe that the courts should decide his fate, not us.

I do agree that the the game should go on; but not for the University’s sake but for the young men who are collectively called the team; as they should not be punished for what those who sit in a position of power failed to do. As well as USC team should not be punished for Reggie Bush’s mental collapse.

If the Board of Trustee’s allow any of those that are even remotely related to this story (Joe Pa included) to take the field on Saturday speaks of the Board’s incompetence to manage. Remember its not just the Sportsworld watching, it is the collective world as whole that are watching.

Karli on 11/9/2011 @ 7:03pm EDT Said:

This segment is so upsetting. Saying that “the students still don’t get it” is absurd. I am a student, and believe me, we all understand that this is completely NOT about football. Goodness gracious, you make us look like we don’t care about those kids, or the crimes, or the mistakes of everyone (including JoePa, yes him too, we blame him too). We are having a candle light vigil for victims this Friday night. In the midst of the heartbreak we want justice, and we want the right things to be done now. The mistakes of the past can’t be changed but we do want a correct response now by administration and by media. Please don’t portray us as people who simply want to tailgate and support JoePa this Saturday. We want to support and highlight the amazing things this school offers, despite tragic mistakes of others. We get it! We truly do, and it is on our minds and hearts. JoePa made mistakes, they all made mistakes. But so do we all. We pay for them, but must we be defined by them? No, and neither should he.